Process of extracting rubber and the like from wood.



No. 814,675. PATENTED MAR. 13,-1906.

A. VILLALBA DE LA CORTE. PROCESS OF EXTRACTING RUBBER AND THE LIKE FROM WOOD.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 31, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

PATENTED MAR. 13, 1906.- A. VILLALBA DE LA CORTE.

PROCESS OF EXTRAGTING RUBBER AND THE LIKE FROM WOOD. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 31, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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UN D ST PATENT orrron.

- ANTONIO-VILLALBA' DE LA CORTE, or SAN LUIS POTOSI, MEXICO.

' PROCESS OF EXTRACTING RUBBER 'AN D.THE LIKE FROM W000.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 13, 1906.

Application filed gust 31, 1905. Serial No. 276,543,

. To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AN'roNIo VILLALBA DE LA CORTE, a subject of the King of Spain, and

- ample, the twigsl a resident of San Luis Potosi, 1n the State of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, (Whose post-oflice address is 5" Calle de Fuente No. 5,) have invented certain new and useful Im rovements inProcesses of Extracting Rub er and the Like from Wood, of which the'following is a specification.

My invention relates to a process for'extracting from certain woods the contained rubber or caoutchouc-like substances.

, The object of my invention is .to extract these substances from the wood by dry means, utiizing pressure and heat to accomplish the en V For this pur ose my invention consists, essentially, in subjecting the wood to a series of successively finer grindings, and during the final stages of the I process subjecting the wood to the influence of both pressure and heat, whereby the extracted rubber is caused toa glomerate.

e nature of my invention will be best understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, representing one form of apparatus for carrying out my process, in which- Figure 1 is an end view'oof the apparatus. Fig. 2 1s a front view, partly in section, taken in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1.

Similar letters and numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout both views.

In carrying out my" process I take, for exand branches of a shrub, such as that own as guayule, which contains considerable rubber, and break them up into suitable lengths, preferably about one inch. These broken twigs or branches are then fed into a suitable apparatus in which they are subjected tore eated grindings under pressure, the materia being ground to'such a degree that the rubber is mechanicallyseparated therefrom. The separation is assisted during the final stages by heating the material to slightlysoften the rubber, and thereby aid its agglomeration. In the form of apparatus shown the broken twigs or branches'pass successively through cylinders A, B, C, and D,'mounted upon the frame E, being fed into the ho per 1 and then forced through the cylinders by means of screw conveyers 2, 3, 4, and 5, centrally disparatus located at the farther end of'each cylinder, said apparatus comprising a revolving disk 6 andtwo stationary disks 7 and 8. These disks are provided with roughened surfaces or with teeth adapted to grind the wood between them. The surfaces vary from a coarse grinding-surface in the first c linder to a fine grinding-surface in the last, tl ie 'material thereby being successively ground finer and finer until when it passes out of the last cylinder D the wood is in a very fine state of division. The final cylinder D is provided with a steam-jacket 9, to which steam is supplied at a sufficient pressure to 'raise the temperature of the ground wood the desired amount, so that the rubber becomes somewhat soft or plastic and readily agglomerates, especially when rubbed between the in'ding-plates. By the'time the materiaI reaches the cylinder 0 the rubber begins to separate fronr the wood, and this separation is completed by the rubbing or gimding action in the next orfinal cylinder On leaving the cylinder D through the outlet 10 the wood has been so thoroughly ground that the agglomerated rubber is in a condition to be readily separated therefrom by hand or the rubber may be cleaned or'freed from impurities 'by suitable washing or cleaning devices. Means are shown in the drawings for adjusting the spaces between .the grinding disks, therebyregulating the resistance, or rather the pressure required for proper extraction. Power to operate the revolving disks and the conveyers is derived from the pulley-wheel 11 and transmitted by a suitable train of gearing to the various shafts; It will thus be seen that by grinding the wood to the proper degree of neness and subjecting it to considerable pressure in the grinding the rubber or similar products contained therein are extracted therefrom and that the separation is assisted bysubjecting such mixture to a temperature sufficient to slightly soften the rubber, caus-- heating said material during the process of grinding or rubbing to aid the a glomeration of the particles of separated rub er.

3. The herein-described process for extracting rubber or caoutchouc-like substances contained in certain woods said process consisting in breaking the wood to be treated into suitable size and subjecting this broken material to repeated dry grindings under pressure and under the influence of heat.

4. The hereindescribed process for ex tracting rubber or caoutchouc-like substances contained in certain woods, said process consisting in breaking the wood to be treated into suitable size, subjecting this material to successively finer dry grindings and during the final grindin to pressure and eat.

Signed at ew York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 21st day of August, A. D. 1905.

ANTONIO'VILLALBA DE LA CORTE 

